scarce-reading-habits

It feels like so many words have lost meaning these days, and the text-based interpretations of the past are relics of a time gone by. People tend to listen to audiobooks these days, or are just so damn derailed and distracted by anything/everything (else) going on with their device that they can’t even *absorb* what is being read, and even if they tried to, that itch would come knocking, and they would be off in Distraction Land where they would not be able to *deliberate* on what had been consumed.nnSo, why do books exist?nnTradition, mostly, I assume. There’s a fledgling market for physical books, and for those authors who are ready/willing/able to do an audio book (with proper marketing, algo boost by Amazon, and some influencer recommendations), an author can eek out a paycheck (not a living, but a paycheck) from having their work “out there”.nnSo, better question – why do people (try to) read?nnLike I mentioned, no one can intelligibly absorb *most* of what is put in front of them, so why try? Not that they *cannot* read, but I sincerely doubt most people have the mental capacity to genuinely conceive what has been read. Much less what has been “listened to” via audiobook. And I am not saying this to “trash” people – but, if I knew anyone (be it a small, large, or enormous segment of people) who use technology the way that 90% of people in the developed world do, I would label them “a lost cause”. nnShakespeare may have used heroin, but that doesn’t mean a heroin addict knows jack shit about Shakespeare.nnBut I digress, because it is NOT that people prefer e-books instead of physical, and it is NOT because people download e-books and just never get around to reading them, it is (most likely) because a lot of people never even entertain the idea of buying/owning/reading books. I, myself, am delinquent with reading (sometimes, a lot of the time, actually), but I still make an effort.nnIt’s whatever. Just some silly shit that I wanted to say that probably wasn’t even worth pointing out.